E.M.A. (Envision Media Arts) has signed director Nicholas Peterson who recently wrapped a music video for artist Ray Goren. Peterson’s latest commercial for Chrysler launched the brand new Chrysler 2000. And his short film entitled The Visitant starring Amy Smart (Crank 1 & 2) and Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth), produced by Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), will be hitting the film festival circuit this fall.
Peterson graduated from the Experimental Animation Program at the California Institute of Arts (CalArts). After film school, he began working in the visual effects industry as a producer on commercials and features. His first film, a short titled MuM which he directed, received numerous awards, including garnering a 2nd place animation Student Emmy in 2000. MuM was also a selection at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2006, Peterson wrote and directed the feature film Dark Mind, starring Christopher Masterson (Malcolm in the Middle) and Lyndsy Fonseca (Kiss Ass, Nikita). The film gained award recognition and secured domestic distribution and multiple foreign sales. His original style and graphic storytelling naturally led him to direct commercials. His spot work spans such clients as CVS, Ford and Chrysler.
Founded by president and CEO Lee Nelson in 2002, E.M.A. is a film, television and commercial production company based at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Calif. The shop’s spotmaking division is headed by Nelson and exec producer/president of commercial production Andrew Halpern.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More